Same as it Never Was
by eastWOLF
Summary: AU: 12 years Elliot and Olivia had been partners and it took that long before they became engaged and then married. They became a family, had 2 children Ben and Katie, everything was great. But then one night tragedy stuck and Elliot and Olivia were killed. While sadden by their deaths the other members of SVU swore to take care of the kids and Fin and Munch became their guardians.
1. Another Bad Dream

Same as it Never Was

**Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order: SVU, all rights belong to Dick Wolf and NBC Universal.**

**Author's Note: Here's my first attempt at writing a serious drama filled story, I think it's going to be a real tearjerker. There will be E/O so don't worry.**

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Chapter 1: Another Bad Dream

It was a dark and stormy night (cliché right?); a major thunderstorm had hit all 5 boroughs of New York keeping most people inside on this Thursday night. Thunder boomed loudly and the lightning lit up the sky as well as the inside of a Queens home. It was around midnight, all of the lights were out and the occupants of the house were sleeping, all except one. A door slightly opened and a tiny figure stumbled out of the bed room, she was a seven year old girl with wavy brunette hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was clutching a Bugs Bunny plushie in her hands as she walked down a hallway and held onto it even tighter as the thunder roared outside. She passed a few doors until she got to the one at the end of the hallway, she opened it and the natural light from the windows allowed her to see inside the room. She looked around but all she saw was an empty bed, she closed the door not finding who she was looking for and made her way back down the hall. As she was walking the girl noticed a bluish tint bouncing off the walls near the stairs and she decided to check it out. She slowly made her way downstairs to her living room where she saw that the TV was on and as walked towards it she passed the couch and saw who she was looking for. There was a man curled up and asleep on the couch. He was snoring slightly and had a blanket draped over his body.

The little girl just stared at the man as he slept, she then nudged his shoulder. "Fin," her voice was soft but he continued to sleep. "Fin, wake up." She tried a couple more times. "Fin,"

After a while Fin jerked awake. "Huh…?" he opened his eyes and saw the little girl in front of him. "Katie," he sat up on the couch, turned on the lamp on the end table but turned off the TV. "What are you doing up this late?"

The little girl named Katie sat on the couch next to Fin. "I had a bad dream and the thunder scared me." She told him. "It scared Bugs too." She hugged the bunny tightly.

Fin looked down at her and gave her an understand smile. He rubbed her back and tried to comfort her. "It's going to be alright Kat it's just a storm, it should be over by the morning."

"I guess," she looked up at him. "Hey, how come you were sleep down here?"

"I came home from work late," he said." Grandpa Cragen had me doing paperwork and I didn't want to wake you guys."

More thunder boomed outside and Katie curled up next to Fin. "Want to tell me about your dream?"

"It was about mom and dad." She didn't look up. "I don't want to talk about it."

Fin sighed heavily regretting asking her what's wrong. "Alright, we don't have to."

"Fin, can you tell me a story instead?" she asked.

"Okay but you have to go to bed afterwards, you have school in the morning." relieved she wanted to change the subject. "What do you want to hear about?"

She thought for a moment and looked up at him. "How did my dad propose to mommy?"

Fin gave her a heartfelt smile, glad that he could reminisce about the past and tell the girl positive stories of her late parents.

* * *

_Ten Years Ago:_

"_I'm finally going to do it." Elliot Stabler said with a proud smile plastered across his face._

_He was in Captain Cragen's office with Fin and John Munch. He asked to call a meeting of the men in the squad for something very important. They were all happy for their friend and colleague about the great news._

"_We're all happy for you Elliot." Cragen smiled._

"_Can I add, it's about time!" Fin smirked._

"_What my partner is trying to say is that you've known each other for 12 years, it was bound to happen." Munch remarked._

"_So when you going to pop the question?" Fin asked._

"_Saturday," he said. "We're going to the Intrepid Museum for Fleet Week and I thought I'd do it there with all my friends watching."_

"_Well aren't you the proud marine?" Cragen said. "You can count on us Elliot, we'll be there."_

_Fin and Munch nodded in agreement._

"_Can you guys tell the ladies and George?" Elliot asked them. "And remember to keep it a secret, I want it to be a surprise!" _

"_Don't worry we won't ruin this for you guys." Fin said._

"_Thanks," Elliot was grateful._

_Soon Fin and Munch left to tell everyone to news and left Elliot and the Captain alone._

"_So I don't have to tell you that if you break her heart I will end you." Cragen said seriously but also jokingly. _

"_No offence Captain, but I'd be more worried about what Liv would do to me." Elliot said truthfully. "But I'd never have to worry about that because I would never hurt her. I love her and I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with her, I'm ready to start a family and truly be happy."_

"_But with the good comes the bad." Cragen said somberly. "I've kept you and Olivia's relationship under wraps from IAB for a long time and so has the rest of the squad, but you know that's about to change."_

"_I know," Elliot sighed. "Which is why I request transfer to Queens SVU."_

_Cragen looked the man in the eyes and they were both very serious. "Okay, I'll make a few calls and see what I can do, but until then you're still under my command. I hate to see one of my best detectives go, but let's make these next few months IAB free."_

"_I agree with that." Elliot said thinking of all the times he had to deal with the rat squad. "But I don't know how Olivia is going to deal with this."_

"_Like Fin said you two have been partners for 12 year, you've been through hell and back and dealt with much worst." Cragen spoke so well of the duo. "It'll take time not having you two working together but we'll get use to it."_

"_Yeah…" Elliot looked outside the window and saw Olivia sitting at her desk._

"_You'll be life partners that's even better." Cragen said. "Elliot don't worry too much, Liv loves you just as much as you love her."_

_Elliot turned back around. "Thanks Captain, for everything."_

* * *

_Two days later at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Elliot was with Olivia. There were many other people there with families and the service men and women of the Marines, the Navy and the US Coast Guards. The two spent most of the day together looking at the ships that came in for Fleet Week. The sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky and it was a beautiful day. They were on the deck of the USS New York leaning on the railing and looking over the sea. _

"_This was a great day Elliot." Olivia said. Elliot had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. "I'm glad I could spend it with you." They leaned in and kissed each other on the lips._

"_I'm glad I could spend it with you too Liv." Elliot smiled. "But the day isn't over yet." He looked over his shoulder and waved to the others. Captain Cragen, Munch, Fin, Alex, Casey, Melinda and George had walked up towards them and surrounded them._

_Olivia was confused. "What's going on?"_

_They all just smiled without saying anything. Olivia looked back at Elliot who had the biggest smile she has ever seen on his face and he got down on one knee._

"…_Oh…my…" Olivia couldn't finish her statement._

_Elliot pulled out a small black box. "Olivia Maria Benson, for the past 12 years you've got my back and stood by me. You have brought out the best in me as I have protected and served this city, but now I want to do the same for you. Olivia, will you marry me?"_

_She had tears in her eyes, but they weren't of sadness but tears of joy. "Oh my god, yes I'll marry you Elliot!" _

_He pulled out the 10 karrot white gold engagement ring and slipped it onto her finger. All their friends clapped and cheered for them, Elliot stood up and embraced Olivia in a hug, she was still crying tears of joy and hugged him back._

"_Elliot I'm so happy." Olivia said through her crying. _

"_I know baby." Elliot looked at her and he kissed her. "I'm so happy too!"_

* * *

Fin finished telling his story and noticed Katie was asleep, he looked down and smiled at the girl. He knew there was no point in waking her up so he scooped her up and took her upstairs.

'_She looks so peaceful.'_ He thought. Normally Fin didn't do well with kids and he wasn't a role model parent when his son Ken was growing up, but he looked to change that. He walked down the hall with Katie and opened up her bed room door, inside was a bunk bed and a 10 year old boy was asleep on the top bunk. Fin laid Katie on the lower bunk and put a blank on her. Subconsciously she hugged Bugs tighter and let out a small sign. He looked at the two kids for a minute before turning to leave the room.

"Fin?" he heard Katie's voice and turned back around.

"Yes?" He asked softly.

"I still miss my mom and dad."

"I know you do, we all do." He was quite for a minute. "But you know I'm here for you and Ben."

"I know, thanks Fin." She laid back down. "Night Fin."

"Night Kat." He closed the door him and went to his own room. He sat on the edge of his bed and let out a sign. "Even after all this time, it's still hard to get over what happened."

* * *

**Author's Note: So here's the first chapter, and yes Elliot and Olivia have died but they will be in this story through flashbacks. Like it? Reviews would be appreciated. **


	2. The Night Everything Changed pt 1

**Author's Note: Ugh was FanFiction down last night or was my computer just being stupid? Hopefully more people read the story but I'm still continuing. Flashbacks will be written in italics and there might be POV from some characters. Do people mind this?**

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Chapter 2: The Night Everything Changed part 1

_One Year Ago:_

_It was the first week of March, it was still cold and muggy but winter was almost over. More people were starting to spend more time outside by going to restaurants, movies and places to unwind after a long day at work; detectives of the NYPD were no different. Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson-Stabler were getting ready for their long awaited dinner date. A few weeks ago was Valentine's Day and they had planned a romantic dinner at this fancy restaurant but being on call 24/7 means anything can change in a heartbeat. Elliot was called away on a child abduction in Queens and Olivia was called away on a rape/homicide of a 23 year old woman in Central Park. The married couple had to work in different boroughs because of police protocols but they made the best of it. Olivia got a new partner name Nick Amaro, he was young, brash and reminded her a lot of Elliot but he could never fill his place on the squad. Elliot also got a new partner when he was transferred to Queens, his name was Lucius Blaine and he was just as much of a hot head as Elliot. They clashed a lot at first but over the years they came to terms and became good partners. _

_Tonight was their make-up Valentine's Day dinner, it's been a rough few weeks for the two detectives but they were finally getting what they deserved. It was Friday night and at the moment they had no cases, Olivia had finished her DD5s and came home early and Elliot had the day off. It was around 7:30 pm and the two were getting ready in their bedroom. Elliot was looking at the mirror as he fixed his red tie; he was wearing an all-black business suit that looked nice but didn't want to draw attention away from his wife. Soon Olivia walked out of the bathroom wearing a beautiful mid-length red dress that complemented her perfectly. Her hair was pulled back in an upright ponytail which showed off the nice earrings she picked for the night. She walked over to her husband and gave him a light kiss on the cheek._

"_You look handsome." She smiled._

"_And you look so beautiful." He said back. "I'm glad we get to have this night to ourselves, sorry it took so long though."_

"_Duty called," Olivia said. "I'm just glad you were able to get another reservation."_

"_It's what I do," He grinned. "Put criminals away, love my children and take care of the most wonderful woman in the world."_

"_Save the sweet talk for later," she teased. "Let's go downstairs; Fin should be here any minute."_

_Elliot nodded and followed Olivia downstairs. They both walked into the living room and saw their two children sitting on the couch. There was their daughter Katie and their nine year old son Ben; he had blue eyes just like his dad and short spiky black hair. At the moment Katie was watching cartoons and Ben was looking for something in his backpack._

_Katie turned her attention when she heard footsteps behind her. "Wow mom you look pretty!"_

"_Thanks sweetheart," Olivia said. "And I think your dad agrees."_

_Elliot looked over to his son. "Lose something?"_

_Ben didn't look up and continued to look through his bag. "I'm looking for my score sheet, have you seen it?"_

_Elliot looked around and saw a stray piece of paper on the mantle behind him. "This one?" he raised it to his son._

"_Yeah thanks dad." Ben put his bag on the coffee table._

_Elliot started to read what was on the paper. It was a score sheet that said 'Mario Kart wins' and had names on it with tally marks next to them indicating wins. "Looks like you've been busy." He hands the paper to Olivia._

"_Maybe that's why he never gets his homework done on time." She remarked._

"_That's not true," Ben got up to get the paper from his mom. "I do my homework and have time to play games."_

"_I thought we told you no games on a school night?" Olivia said._

_Ben rubbed the back of his head. "Well…ugh…?"_

"_Benny's getting in trouble." Katie said in a sing song way._

"_Shut up Kat." Ben said._

"_Don't tell her to shut up." Elliot told his son. "Be nice you two."_

"_Yes dad," both the kids said._

_Suddenly the doorbell rang and Elliot went to answer it, at the door was one of their longtime friends and fellow detective Fin Tutuola._

"_Hey Fin," he greeted._

"'_Sup Elliot," Fin responded._

_Elliot stepped aside and let Fin inside. "I'm not late am I?" he checked his watch._

"_Perfect timing actually," Elliot told him. "We just finished getting ready."_

_Fin saw Olivia all dressed up and smiled. "Elliot, to this day you are one lucky man." He went up to her a quick hug. "Where's my favorite niece and nephew?" Obviously they weren't blood related but with the SVU squad being so close the kids defiantly had an extended family. The kids were the pride and joy of the detectives and of the squad; they always looked out for them and when need be they'd babysit. _

"_Hey Fin," Ben greeted and gave him a fist bump._

"_Hey little man," Fin returned the gesture._

_Katie got off the couch and ran to her 'uncle' with her arms extended. "Fin!"_

_He bent down to give her a hug. "Hi baby girl, you've been good?"_

"_Yes," she said. "But Ben's not."_

"_I didn't do anything bad!" Ben was quick to defend himself. "Mom and dad realized that I play a few video games before doing my homework."_

"_To be fair he ratted himself out," Elliot said. "And he keeps a score sheet."_

"_Never lie to your parents," Fin chuckled. "Especially if they're cops."_

"_I know," Ben looked guilty. "But I can still play games tonight right?"_

"_I don't know," Olivia started._

"_Please mom?" he begged. "I promise to do all my homework tomorrow."_

_She thought about it for a few seconds. "Well okay, but that's only so Fin can beat you at Mario Kart."_

_Elliot looked at the other detective and Fin shrugged. "What? I'm in the bracket and I have more wins than Munch."_

"_Sometimes I can't tell who the kids are, you or them?" Elliot remarked._

_Before Fin responded Katie interjected. "Fin I wanna watch The Incredibles."_

"_It's her new favorite movie," Elliot smiled at his daughter._

_She nodded her head. "Daddy is Mr. Incredible, mom is Elastigirl, Ben is Dash and I'm Violet."_

"_So you all have superpowers?" Fin asked her._

"_We're a family of superheroes!" She told him. "And you could be Frozone!"_

_They all laughed, the little girl had such a wild imagination._

"_We'll do both okay," Fin told her. "We'll watch the movie and play games." He looked over to Elliot and Olivia. "I promise to have them sleep by bedtime." _

"_Thanks," Olivia said to him._

_Elliot's watch beeped and realized it was 8 o'clock on the dot. "We gotta go or we'll miss our reservation."_

"_Go give your parents a hug." Fin told the kids._

_Katie hugged her mom and Olivia gave her a kiss back. "Night mom,"_

"_Night sweetie," Olivia responded, and then she did the same for Ben. "Be good tonight."_

"_I will mom," Ben hugged her._

_Katie went to her dad and Elliot picked her up. He hugged her tightly. "You won't be scared tonight, right?"_

"_I'm a big girl daddy I won't get scared, I promise." Katie said as she kissed his cheek._

_Elliot put her down and he gave Ben a hug. _

"_Night dad,"_

"_Night kiddo," Elliot rubbed his hands through his son's hair._

_They grabbed their coats and walked out the door. Their kids and Fin all waved to them._

"_Have a good night." Fin said._

"_We will," Olivia said._

"_We should be back by 11." Elliot said as he unlocked the car doors._

"_Take your time; I don't mind being here with the kids." Fin told them._

_Elliot and Olivia got in their car, pulled out of the driveway and started to drive down the street. Fin and the kids went back inside of the house._

"_We'll watch the movie first because I gotta put Kat to bed first." Fin told them. "Then you and me can play a few rounds of Mario Kart." He looked at Ben._

"_Alright," Ben said realizing it was a good compromise._

"_Yea!" Katie cheered._

_The three got ready for a night of fun and so did Elliot and Olivia. But what no one knew was that all their lives were about to change for the worst._

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**Author's Note: Some might know where this is going but I wanted to get another chapter uploaded before the weekend ended. Hope you guys like it and reviews would be appreciated! **


	3. The Night Everything Changed pt 2

**Author's Note: I haven't updated in like 2 weeks because I was busy, but now there will be more I promise! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: The Night Everything Changed part 2

_It was around 10:30pm at the Stabler/Benson house, an hour ago Fin had put Katie to bed after the movie ended and was now playing Mario Kart with Ben. Both were gripping onto a plastic steering wheel and focusing on the screen, Ben picked Mario and Fin picked Bowser and they were competing for first place. Fin's character drifted around the sharp corner and got to first place, Ben's character hit an items box and got a red shell._

"_I got you Fin!" Ben jeered._

"_I don't see how," Fin said. "I'm almost to the finish line!"_

_Ben's character threw the red shell at Fin's character and then hit and stunned him._

"_Come on," Fin didn't want to swear in front of the nine year old. His character spun around and Ben took first place and crossed the finish line. Two CPUs passed Fin's character before he recovered and got to the finish line himself._

"_Yes! I win!" the boy was happy._

"_I almost had you there." Fin was being a good sport as he looked at his 4__th__ place position. The man then got up and stretched his legs. "That was the last game, turn it off and get ready for bed." He looked at the time on the nearby cable box. "Your parents should be home soon and I promised them you'd both be sleep."_

"_Fine," Ben sighed. He liked playing games with his uncle but he knew it was getting late and his dad would get upset because he has to get up in morning for his karate lesions._

_Fin had walked into the kitchen and was cleaning up, earlier he ordered pizza for the kids and was putting away the leftovers. "So what are you doing this weekend?" he asked the boy._

_Ben saved his game before turning it off. "I have karate but after dad said he would take me to the pet store."_

"_Really?" Fin said as he removed the pizza box off the counter. _

_Ben walked into the kitchen and put a plate and glass in the sink. "Yeah, he said it's a present for getting my orange belt."_

"_That's great," Fin smiled. "What kind of pet? Cat? Dog?"_

"_No, dad said I'm not old enough for a dog so I'm getting a turtle."_

"_Turtles aren't so bad," he reassured the boy. "When I was a kid I had a goldfish named Spike."_

"_I'm gonna name him Leo after my favorite ninja turtle." Ben smiled. "Maybe dad will let me get 4 turtles, that'll be so cool."_

"_One step at a time little man." Fin chuckled. _

"_I can dream,"_

"_Yeah you can," Fin said. "Now get ready for bed."_

_Ben went to put away the game system before going upstairs to his room. "Night Fin."_

"_Night," Fin continued to clean up before his friends got back._

* * *

_Meanwhile on the other side of Queens Elliot and Olivia were driving home from their dinner date. The dynamic duo went to a fancy restaurant that one of Elliot's friends had recommended and they had a good time. They shared a bottle of wine, talked and Elliot gave Olivia a surprise gift, a locket with pictures of their kids inside. Right now they were driving down the many Queens blocks with the radio quietly playing, Elliot had his eyes focused on the road and Olivia was staring out the window._

_She turned to her husband and smiled. "This night was lovely El, thank you."_

"_I'm glad; I wanted this night to be special. This means I'm off the hook for Valentine's Day right?"_

"_Yeah," she answered. "But you're not off the hook for letting Ben get a pet."_

"_Come on Liv he's been wanting a pet for years. I think he's ready for the responsibility." Elliot said._

"_What about Katie?" she asked. "Now she's going to want one."_

"_When she's older she can have a pet," he said. "They can have a dog when they get older. I think getting Ben a turtle will be a great start, he can work his way up."_

"_I can't stay mad at you for long."_

_Elliot smiled. "I know you can't." He signaled and then turned left onto a one-way street._

"_I love you El." Olivia said._

"_I love you too." Elliot said. "And when we get home I'm gonna show you how much love I can give."_

_Olivia chuckled._

_While they continued to drive neither of them noticed the huge gasoline truck that sped around the corner into oncoming traffic. _

"_Elliot!" Olivia screamed._

_They didn't have time to react, the truck plowed into them head on! The truck rammed down the street and mangled Elliot's car but also the 2 cars behind his before it flipped over. The gasoline in the tanker truck instantly caught fire and exploded engulfing the smaller cars and the people inside them. Soon police cars arrived to the scene of the crime after chasing the tanker truck. Cops got out of their cars trying to look for an opening to save any people while firefighters were en route._

"_My god!" One of the police officers got out as another explosion ignited._

_Soon fire engines could be heard in the distance. _

"_Move out men!" A fire chief yelled._

_Firefighters got out of their trucks and grabbed their hoses ready to put out the fires. Some ran towards the fire trying to help the people inside the cars. Unfortunately it looked too late for all the people in the vehicles._

* * *

_Back out the house the kids were asleep in their room and Fin was downstairs watching TV. He was watching a sports report when a 'Breaking News' report interrupted._

"_Come on!" He groaned. He wasn't ignorant of the news especially with the job he had, but no one wants to hear of horrible news 24/7. He just wanted to hear the sports results and that was it so he changed the channel to another news station, but whatever channel he went to had the same breaking news report. He gave up and stayed on a channel because whatever this news was it was very important._

"…_And just to recap this breaking news," the reporter's voice boomed over the TV. "There has been a fiery pileup between 3 cars and a tanker truck on Brand Street in Queens."_

_Fin kept his eyes glued to the screen; Brand Street was only 6 blocks away from the house and his heart sunk._

"_According to one of the officers they had been in pursuit of a drunk driver behind the wheel of the gasoline tanker." The reporter was reading the news as it came into the studio. "The tanker swerved onto the one-way street where it collided to other oncoming cars." Shaky cell phone video played on the screen of cars on fire, police officers tapping of the scene and firefighters constantly moving about trying to put out the deadly blaze. There was also overhead video as the news chopper hovered over the scene._

"_At this time there is no information on the victims or the driver of the tanker truck but when we get that information we will tell all of our viewers. We will stay on this story as we get more information." The reporter continued._

_Fin immediately pulled out his cell phone and started to dial Olivia's cell phone. Automatically a prerecorded message sounded. "The number you have dialed is currently unavailable please try again later."_

"_Come on, come on, come on, this can't be happening." Fin said over and over again. The usually composed man was losing his cool just by viewing this newscast and assuming the worst. He tried dialing Olivia's cell phone again and the same automatic message played. He then tried Elliot's phone it was just as he feared with the same message. "Please don't let this be happening." He watched the screen as the firefighters were still putting out the fire. He dialed Munch's cell phone next hoping his partner would pick up._

"_Hello," It was defiantly Munch's voice on the other end of the line but he sounded tired. _

"_Munch you still at work?" Fin questioned but he sounded shaky._

"_I'm still here." He said. "Fin what's the matter? You don't sound okay." He could hear it in his friend's voice that something was very wrong, Fin never acts like this._

"_John I need you to come to Queens, its Elliot and Olivia something's wrong!" Fin was very worried._

"_What happen?!"_

"_There's a car crash and explosion near their house, I tried calling both their phones and both are disconnected. They said they were coming home around this time and I'm worried!" Fin got out. He was pacing around the room and still watching the TV. "Man I gotta go down see what happen."_

"_Try and calm down a bit." Munch tried to ease his friend but now he was worried as well. "What about the kids?"_

"_They're sleep," Fin answered. "But I can't just sit here and do nothing when Elliot and Olivia could be close by. I'm going to get one of the neighbors to watch over the kids, just meet me here as fast as you can!"_

"_Okay," Munch knew there was no stopping his friend. "I'll call the Captain and get him to meet us there as well."_

"_It happened on Brand Street, just get here!" Fin was frantic._

_Just then his phone got another phone call from fellow detective Nick Amaro._

"_Fin have you seen the news?!" Nick sounded worried as well. He also lived in Queens but on the south side and must've heard the news._

"_Yeah, it happened close by the house." Fin said. "They're not answering their phones I'm headed there now."_

"_Same here," said the younger detective. He was worried for his partner and her husband "I should be there in 20 minutes."_

"_The Captain and Munch are coming as well." Fin informed him. He then hung up his cell phone and went to grab his coat. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Ben standing near the stairs._

"_Fin what's going on?" the boy asked._

"_It's nothing, go back to bed." Fin didn't want to lie to the boy, but at this moment what choice did he have? He went to turn off the TV so Ben couldn't see the newscast._

"_Why are you leaving?" he asked._

"_There's something very important I need to take care of." Fin was trying his hardest to stay calm. "I really need you to go back to bed okay? I'm going to get Mrs. Sanford to stay with you guys, just please go back to bed."_

_Ben just looked at him confused. "I heard a really loud boom it sounded like an explosion."_

"_I have to go help Ben, just go upstairs!" Fin was stern now making sure the kid understood he was in no mood to play around._

"_Okay," Ben ran up the stairs and into his room._

_Now that Fin knew he was up there he put on his jacket and raced next door to the neighbors. He rang the doorbell and after a few seconds Mrs. Sanford opened the door. _

"_Detective Tutuola can I help you?" The elder woman asked._

"_Yes Mrs. Sanford, I need you to watch Ben and Katie for me." He asked. "There's an emergency six blocks away and I need to help."_

"_You mean that explosion?!" Mrs. Sanford asked. "Certainly, I can watch them."_

"_Thank you, they're upstairs in their room." Fin said. He ran off the neighbor's porch and ran to his car. He turned the ignition and sounded his police siren and sped through the streets. As he raced there he hoped that his fears wouldn't be a reality!_

* * *

**Author's Note: It's another cliffhanger chapter because I'm evil and I haven't updated so I wanted to give people something! So yeah this is going exactly where it's going and the next chapter is going to be so heartbreaking for EVERYBODY! Well until next time reviews are always appreciated. **


	4. The Night Everthing Changed pt 3

**Author's Note: This chapter was done a couple of days ago but Fan Fiction was fucking up and not letting me update. Well it's here now, enjoy!**

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Chapter 4: The Night Everything Changed part 3

_It was all a blur as Fin raced to the scene of the accident, his car came to a quick halt and he stepped out. Police officers had already taped off the scene but Fin flashed his badge to get through._

"_Detective Tutuola Manhattan SVU," he announced._

_The firefighters were almost done putting out the fire and the fire chief walked over to him._

"_Not that I don't mind the extra help, but what's a Manhattan detective doing here?"_

"_I was in the neighborhood and…"Fin didn't say another word as he looked over the fire chief's shoulder and saw a familiar looking car being pulled from under the tanker; Fin ran past him._

"_Don't go over there!"_

_As he got closer and closer Fin felt something he hadn't felt in years; fear, fear that his friends could actually be dead. "No, no, no!" Two firefighters grabbed him and held him back, Fin fought like hell though. "Let me through!"_

"_Detective you have to stay back and let my men do their jobs." The fire chief tried to convince him._

_Fin saw the license plate and he knew it was from Elliot's car. He couldn't take it anymore and he broke down, his knees became weak and fell to the ground. It was as if everything around him had stopped, he didn't hear anything the firefighters were saying and he didn't even notice that Nick had arrived on the scene._

"_Fin," Nick ran towards him. "Fin? Fin talk to me!" he knelt down to the other man._

"_Why…?" Was all he could say._

"_Why, what?"_

"_Why this happen to them?"_

"_It can't be them," Nick couldn't believe him. "There's no-"_

_Fin didn't let him finish. "That's Elliot's car man! That truck hit them head on, there was no time to react!" he let out a heavy sigh. "I hate to say it…but…they're dead." Even though neither of them had seen bodies yet Fin was right. _

_While Nick hadn't known the detectives as long the others he was still upset. Olivia was his partner and over the years he had come to respect her. Him and Fin were both silent as the fire chief came back to them._

"_Detectives I know this is hard for you guys but we have to get to these bodies. Please don't make this harder on yourselves." He looked down on the men and hoped they would cooperate. _

_It took a minute but the two men got up and stepped aside for the fire chief. These harden men hadn't shed any tears yet but it was bound to happen at some point. They just looked on as the firefighters went to check the other cars._

* * *

_Thirty long minutes passed by and Fin and Nick watched on. It was bad enough seeing other people killed by reckless morons but when it's someone you know it's even worst. The media had arrived trying to get any information from the detectives, the police officers or the firefighters but to no avail. Cragen and Munch had also arrived to the scene and were in just as bad in shape as Fin and Nick._

"_Cap…" Fin solemnly looked at Cragen. "It's them."_

_Both their faces looked bleak when Fin told them the news, they didn't want to believe it. Cragen walked past his detectives and up to where emergency crews where loading up the body bags. He caught a quick glimpse of a bag with a man in it and Cragen couldn't believe his eyes, he was defiantly staring at Elliot's body except part of it was charred and mangled presumably from the impact of the truck. He turned and saw another bag with Olivia lying in it, she wasn't nearly as burned as Elliot but there was blood everywhere and her neck was snapped. John came over and saw the bodies for himself and almost lost it but the captain did before him. Tears formed in Cargen's eyes, right in front of him were the two people he saw as his own son and daughter and now they were dead. John caught him before he fell to the ground and tried to move away from the bodies; hell he didn't know how he was able to move himself as he felt the same way._

_Cragen, John, Fin and Nick were all red eyed just standing there grief-stricken. Again the fire chief went over to them and broke up the silence. "Captain I wish we could've met on better circumstances." He took over his fire helmet. "Your detectives told me they were a part of your unit, you have my deepest condolences."_

"_Thank you chief," were the only words Cragen was able to get out._

_The four walked away from the scene when they were stopped by a police officer. "Captain Cragen, my condolences to you and your squad, I wish there was more I've could've done to prevent this."_

"…_It's not your fault officer," Those were the words that came out of his mouth but right now he was mad at everyone, they could have been saved! They could have lived!_

_The four started to walk again._

"_Wait, where are you going?" the officer hollered. "The Mayor and police commissioner will want to make a statement."_

_The others kept on walking and Cragen turned to the officer. "That can wait, we have more important things to handle like informing two kids their parents are gone." With that they all left pushing pass the sea of reporters, flashing lights and annoying cameramen._

_Fin turned to Cragen, "How are we going to do this? The kids shouldn't have to hear this." He was right, none of them wanted to tell Ben and Katie that their parents were dead but they had to face reality. This was why Cragen was the captain, to lead his squad during dark times and this was more apparent than ever._

_Cragen had to compose himself before answering. "Well the first thing we're going to do is go back to the house and we need to call the others, it will be best if all of us are together. The kids are going to need all the support we can get."_

"_I think we're all going to need the support." Munch somberly said._

* * *

_Back at the Stabler/Benson residence the elderly neighbor Mrs. Sanford was supposed to be watching the kids until Fin came back but she had fallen asleep on the couch. Because of this and the way Fin was acting earlier Ben knew something wasn't right and waited for the right moment to sneak back downstairs and turn on the TV. The kid was clever especially since he was the son of two detectives, he muted the TV and put on closed captioning; he sat close to the screen and watched the breaking news as it aired. At first the news had only reported that it was an explosive car crash but then when Ben saw a glimpse of Fin appear on the screen he knew something was very wrong. Soon he also saw Nick, Munch and Cragen rush pass the yellow crime scene tape and wonder why they were there. Ben wanted to know why his 'uncles' and 'grandfather' were dealing with a car crash in Queens and kept reading the onscreen captions to the best of his abilities. The news reporters used big words that he didn't understand but when they flashed his parents' service pictures he got really scared. Somehow word got out that detectives were unfortunate causalities in the crash and it spread like wildfire. Tears immediately came to the little boy's eyes when he saw the sentence "Married detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson-Stabler have been killed in the crash."_

"…_M-mom? Dad?" Ben started to choke on his words. "Mommy!? Daddy!?T-t…they're d-dd-dead…?" at first he was whimpering and then it turned into a very loud full-fledged cry, it was so loud that it woke Mrs. Sanford. _

"_What's wrong sweetheart?" Mrs. Sanford asked. "Did you have a bad dream?" she saw Ben crying and then the newsfeed and automatically knew what happened. She turned off the TV and tried to console Ben; she rubbed his back and said soothing words. Ben kept crying and his face turned red, his eyes were extremely watery and snot rapidly came from his nose. She continued to try and calm the boy down until she heard the front door open._

_Fin, Nick, John and Cragen all walked into the home still teary eyed themselves and could see Ben crying. They all looked downtrodden; this is exactly what they feared, that the kids would find out not through their family in a gentle way but through the cold blooded media. The men came into the living room and saw the tear soaked carpet where Ben laid. Mrs. Sanford looked up at them and without anyone saying a word she knew all of this was true; she stood up and quietly excused herself. _

_Fin knelt down beside the boy. "Ben…"_

"_F-F-Fin?" Ben instinctively hugged Fin. "I-it's not t—true! It's not real! It's not real! N-nononononono!" Ben cried more and held tighter onto Fin as if he was going to be taken away too._

_Fin embraced the hug, Ben needed to cry and he also needed family. _

_Cragen looked at John. "Go check on Katie, see if she knows."_

"_Hopefully she's still sleep," Munch went to go upstairs._

_Ben started to heave and struggled to look at Cragen. "W-why? Why would s-s-someone do this to my mom a-and dad?"_

_Cragen looked into his eyes and saw the fear, the sadness and utter confusion of a nine year old who just lost his parents. In his 40+ years of service he has seen this many times but to have this happen to people he personally knew- to people he saw as his family it was something completely different. "I don't know why someone would do this." He knelt down to Ben. "They didn't deserve this, no one did."_

_Ben let go of Fin moving to hug Cragen and he started to cry again. _


End file.
